This will be the first ever encounter between Senegal and the Netherlands. The Dutch are unbeaten against African opposition at the Fifa World Cup (W3 D1), while Senegal have never tasted defeat when facing European opposition in the group phase of the competition (W2 D1).
The Netherlands are unbeaten in their last eight opening matches at the Fifa World Cup (W6 D2), while Senegal have won both of their openers in the tournament (1-0 v France in 2002, 2-1 v Poland in 2018).
None of Senegal’s eight matches at the Fifa World Cup have ended goalless. Their only clean sheet dates back to their first ever match in the competition, in May 2002 against France (1-0).
This is Senegal’s third appearance at the Fifa World Cup. The Africa Cup of Nations defending champions reached the quarterfinals in 2002 before being knocked out in the group stages in 2018.
The Netherlands have won 11 of their last 14 matches at the Fifa World Cup, penalty shoot-outs excluded (D2 L1). Their only defeat in that time was the 2010 final against Spain (0-1 after extra-time), while, their last defeat in a group game was back in 1994 against Belgium (0-1).
Sadio Mané has been directly involved in 12 of the last 25 goals scored by Senegal players in major international tournaments (Afcon and World Cup), scoring nine goals and assisting three.
This will be Aliou Cisse’s second consecutive Fifa World Cup as Senegal manager. He has been a part of seven of the eight games played by Senegal in the competition (4 as a player, 3 as a coach).
Netherlands forward Memphis Depay was directly involved in more goals than any other player in the European qualifiers for the 2022 Fifa World Cup (18), scoring 12 and assisting a further six in 10 games.
Netherlands’ Frenkie de Jong progressed the ball forward via carries on average 210 metres per match during the European World Cup qualifiers, the highest for any player with more than five appearances.
This is Louis van Gaal’s third spell as head-coach of the Netherlands national team. He took them to a third-place finish in his only previous Fifa World Cup involvement in 2014.
